Event: Cincy ComiCon

Comic book conventions have exploded in recent years (e.g., the monolithic San Diego Comic-Con) but they’ve also lost touch with what a comic convention should be, forfeiting the artistry of graphic novels to instead concentrate on a tumescent number of celebrity guests. This weekend marks the inaugural Cincinnati ComiCon, a convention that shepherds Cincinnati back to its roots.

Kendall “Grand Poobah” Swafford, owner of Cheviot’s Up Up & Away comic shop, founded the con with four of his influential friends: sales team Brian Livingston and Bill Haders, and The Walking Dead co-creator Tony Moore and his wife, Kara. Since last year, the partners have been busy organizing the con and reaching out to rare guests like artist/writer Arthur Adams, who’s never participated in a con east of the Mississippi but will be in attendance this weekend thanks to Tony Moore.

The gang modeled Cincy ComiCon after HeroesCon in Charlotte, N.C., a show that’s remained authentic and unadulterated for all of its 31 years.

Cincy ComiCon runs Friday-Sunday at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, One West River Center Blvd., Covington.